Energy removal and MHD performance of lithium capillary-pore systems for divertor target application

Experimental results of complex studies of lithium capillary-pore systems (CPS) for application as a plasma facing structure in divertor and on the first wall of a fusion reactor are reported. The ability of CPS to accept and to remove high heat fluxes (up to 30 MW m(-2)) in steady-state conditions (tens of minutes) has been evaluated on target plate imitator mock-ups supplied with cooling and lithium feed systems under electron beam power load in a linear plasma facility. Experimental study of lithium flow up to 2.5 m s(-1) in CPS made of material with final conductivity for various mesh sizes and of the effect of cross magnetic field up to 1.6 T on its parameters has been made. The results of successful experiments on the T-11M tokamak helium and hydrogen plasma interaction with a CPS-based lithium limiter and lithium puff influence on the plasma performances are presented and analysed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.